Testing my Temple Fork Outfitters Fly Rod and Warranty

Last October at our first-ever kayak fishing tournament in Kentucky I was lucky enough to win a fly rod donated by Temple Fork Outfitters and Reel Recovery. TFO makes affordable, high-performance fly rods, and if you haven’t heard of Reel Recovery, they’re a national, non-profit organization that conducts free fly fishing retreats for men recovering from all forms of cancer. Something that inspires me a great deal after having lost my husband to cancer in 2008.

If you don’t know much about Temple Fork Outfitters Flyrods, here’s a little background. They boast the design work of some of the giants in fly fishing. The rod design team consists of Lefty Kreh, Bob Clouser, Mick Curcione, Ed Jaworowski, Jim Teeny and Gary and Wanda Taylor. Not to mention a signature series from G Loomis. Not light-weights by any stretch of the imagination! With several series available, an angler is bound to find the one that is right for them.

Temple Fork Outfitters Fly Rods also carry a lifetime, no-fault warranty. This is a concept I recently had to put to a test, although not intentionally. After a bad backcast (sorry Rob) hooked into a pretty tough vine I snapped the last 6″ off of my rod. (Have I mentioned I’ve only been fly fishing for about four months now?). At any rate, broken-hearted, I came home and got on TFO’s website. Time to try out their warranty to see if it’s as easy as it sounds.

I’m happy to say that exactly seven days after shipping them my rod, I received it back, complete with the new blank in the replacement section plus they sent me back the small tip that had been broken. As good as new, and with a 7-day turn-around…who could ask for more?

I’m now looking at picking up the 9′ 8wt from TFO to take to Jacksonville in a couple of weeks on a kayak fishing trip. I’ve found it very re-assuring to have a company stand behind their products with that much commitment. It just shows they believe in their products as much as they’ve made me believe in them.

The no-fault guarantee is great, especially for a neanderthal like myself – in the past two years, I’ve snapped three rods, and I have no reservations about advertising that fact. If you’re breaking rods, that means you’re fishing…and if you’re fishing, then life is good!

I was walking down to the river with my brand new TFO rod reel set to cast for the first time. Right before my first cast ever, I slipped on some mud and snapped the base of my reel foot. The rod seems to be fine but the reel foot snapped. Will they fulfill their warranty you think? The two came together when purchased.

So sorry for you! I’m sure you were disappointed and probably a little heart broken. I really believe they will cover it. You should contact them first thing Monday and tell them what happened. Please stop back by my blog and let me know what happens.